Dennis Doyle (Pegg) is a security guard in a woman’s clothes shop and it’s been five years since he left his pregnant bride Libby (Newton) at the alter. Don’t judge him too harshly as Dennis isn’t really a bad man, it’s just that he like many modern men has a massive fear of commitment. In Dennis's case, his affliction is so chronic it keeps him from being able to see almost any task through successfully without screwing it up. He pines for his lost love and while he still tries to be a good dad to his son, this same affliction means he occasionally screws that up too.

One day while picking up his son he discovers that Libby has a new man in her life, a seemingly perfect American called Whit (Azaria). Whit is everything Dennis is not. He’s slick, smart and successful. He works out religiously and even runs marathons for charity. Struck down by jealousy Dennis misguidedly agrees to run against Whit in one of his marathons, convinced that by doing so he'll can prove to Libby he can change. One problem though. The run is only a few weeks away and while Whit is fit and prepared, Dennis is a chain-smoking, beer swilling slob.

Simon Pegg was born to play the sympathetic everyman role and he capitalizes on that ability here, perfectly capturing Dennis as an emotionally immature man who finds it easier to find excuses for his own failures rather than face up to them. It’s a character who’s not hard not to identify with because of Pegg’s ability to make him seem a like person, who, despite some failings always has his heart in the right place.

Full story: cinemablend.com